Seabird families

I am interested in understanding how seabirds influence grazing habitat on islands. Seabirds are well known to influence terrestrial systems through many factors, for example nutrient input, biopedturbation and seed dispersal. My study aims to see whether seabirds influence grazing habitat in such a way as to affect higher trophic animals, i.e. grazers. The study aims to use nutrient content and stable isotope analysis of soil, plants and wool to understand the relationship between seabirds and grazers.

I am also developing a method to monitor the Atlantic puffin using photography. Puffins can be difficult to monitor given their erratic attendance at a colony and their use of burrows. Using time lapse photography this project aims to estimate the number of breeding pairs of puffins within a defined area using spatial and temporal relationships.